Another name for the "Gallant Age" is the "Porcelain Age".

Both ladies and gentlemen aspired to resemble porcelain figurines in their carefree gracefulness. The gallant age was a time of youthfulness. This effect was supposed to be achieved by the abundant application of powder and blush to the face and hair.

Blush was applied not only to the cheeks, but also to the temples and under the eyes, which "gave the look additional expressiveness."

Lipstick in this make-up could be pink, gold or orange (henna-based) as well. The main thing is the lip contour: the smaller the mouth, the more seductive!

Clean white skin with a blush is a sign of high class.

As early as the 18th and 19th centuries, a clean, pockmark-free face was considered a "special mark". Many faces were disfigured by Cupid's disease (syphilis) and pockmarks. Flies were in great demand to mask unwanted skin imperfections. The fashion for flies did not bypass the stronger sex either: men also paid attention to make-up - they used powder and whitewash, painted their eyes, blackened their eyebrows and roughened their cheeks and lips. Flickers and heavily drawn eyebrows enhanced the whiteness of the face.

The appearance of the fly as a decorative element is attributed to the Duchess of Newcastle, who had problem skin.  

Written by Anastasia Yanovskaya

Flies were made of taffeta, velvet, black paper. There were even special workshops where they were produced. And in order to make flies of the desired shape with our own hands, special stencils were bought. There were flies of a very intricate shape: in the form of a carriage, a boat.

 A box with flies of various shapes was considered a prestigious, fashionable and expensive gift. The boxes themselves were richly decorated and were often a work of jewelry.

Some fashionistas got too carried away and put on a large number of flies, which was inappropriate and likened to female members of an ancient profession. For this reason, a special 'Flower and Fly Register' was issued. It was considered decent to stick 3 flies.

The "language of the flies" was in fashion: a fly at the left eye hinted at gallantry, on the forehead - grandeur, on the chin - naughtiness. Interestingly, the language of flies was ambiguous: in Russia, a fly stuck on the nose indicated rejection, while in France it indicated a perky hostess. A crescent-shaped fly served as an invitation to a date for the night.

Balancing figs.

Hairstyles were considered important for both sexes. By 1770, the end of the Gallant Age, when the figs reached large sizes, the sleek hairstyles changed to gigantic ones to balance the look. Such a volume of hair required an intricate decoration. The abundance of jewelry made it possible to judge the generosity of a husband or gentleman. Hair was decorated with flowers, pearls, fabric, jewelry stones.

The hairstyles of the period were particularly imaginative. "The 'Polonaise' was a tribute to the Polish princess Marie Leszczynska, wife of Louis XV in 1725. The Comtesse de Cossel gave her name to another popular hairstyle: the curls were styled in a wreath around the head and two locks were released on the shoulders. Both hairstyles were lavishly decorated with fresh flowers, ribbons and plenty of powder. By the 1770s the hairstyles had 'grown up', balancing out the increased size of the fringes.

Now on the heads of the ladies were "frigates", "birdcages" with stuffed animals, "gardens" with real flowers.

By the way, the famous hairdo "Frigate" Kuafer (hairdresser) Leonard Autier, nicknamed Bolyar ("Magnificent"), celebrated the victory of the French frigate "La Belle Poul" over the British in 1778.

To increase the volume, wool, hemp, cut hair, special fabric pads were added to the hairstyles, and wire was used to fix the structure.

The fancier the shape of the hairstyle - inverted pyramids, hearts, baskets - the more fashionable the hostess was considered to be. Special hairstyle proportions of 1/2-11/2 faces were calculated.

Written by Alexandra Khudyakova

But the hairstyle, which took hours, I wanted to keep longer!

For this purpose, huge bonnets of a special cut were worn over the styling at night, fastened with hairpins and pins. Their number reached 24 pieces.

The Great French Revolution of 1789, which put an end to the absolute monarchy, put an end not only to the social order, but also radically changed the view of fashion in favor of the convenience and expediency of clothing and hairstyles.

But that's a completely different story.

Photos are taken from open Internet sources.

The material was prepared by Elena Oleinik-Kochetova.